Foreclosures Remain a Problem in Some States

Foreclosures Remain a Problem in Some States

One in 53 mortgages were foreclosed on in 2012, according to the latest data from CoreLogic. While the number is still high, CoreLogic notes the numbers are quickly improving.

Foreclosures dropped 21 percent in December 2012 compared to December 2011. In December, 56,000 foreclosures were completed compared to 71,000 a year prior. An average of 21,000 foreclosures completed in a month is considered more of a “normal” range, according to CoreLogic.

Since September 2008, there have been about 4.1 million homes lost to foreclosure, according to CoreLogic data.

"The most encouraging foreclosure trend reported here is that the inventory of foreclosed properties is almost 20 percent smaller than a year ago," says Mark Fleming, chief economist for CoreLogic. "This big improvement indicates we are working toward resolving the backlog of the most distressed assets in the shadow inventory."

The following five states accounted for nearly half of all completed foreclosures over 2012:

California

Florida

Michigan

Texas

Georgia

The following five states, according to CoreLogic, have the highest foreclosure inventories as a percentage of all mortgaged homes right now: